As Your Friend
by Dragon Elexus
Summary: Kik's always found making new friends tricky, which was why the mysterious Stevonnie swooping in out of nowhere and taking her under their wing was equal parts surprising and exciting. But it seems that Stevonnie has something to tell Kiki, something that'll make this friendship trickier than she could have ever imagined. (But then again, maybe not.)


**Author's Note:** GUESS WHO LOVED THE STEVONNIE+KIKI COMIC?

* _coughs_ *

Okay, real talk, though- this fic has spoilers for the comic. Nothing life shattering, but if you're planning on reading it, I do suggest you do that first, 'cause it's great. Meanwhile, hope you enjoy!

 **As Your Friend**

Kiki was not a people person.

"That's ridiculous," Jenny would say, whenever Kiki brought this up. "Just look at you in the restaurant! You're _amazing_ with customers!"

"That's different," Kiki would say, because it was. When she was working, she didn't feel like herself, not exactly. The uniform gave her confidence. She had a job to do, a script to follow. 'Welcome to Fish Stew Pizza, may I take your order?' 'Let me tell you today's specials.' 'Here's your bill! Thank you so much for coming!'

But just… talking to people? As herself? There were no scripts. And that was _nerve wracking._

Jenny didn't get nervous, least not about things like that. She loved talking to people, and people loved talking to her. Friends, classmates, teachers, store clerks, musicians, complete strangers… Sometimes it felt like the only people she _didn't_ want to talk to were customers, based on how much effort she could put into getting out of work. But point was: people flocked to Jenny like bees to a flower.

Kiki just didn't get how Jenny did it; how she could makes friends as easily as breathing. Kiki had friends, of course, pretty good ones. Tracy, Mona, and Chantelle. Kiki wouldn't trade them for the world. But they felt hard won, and their friendship entirely accidental, based mostly upon chance meetings and shared group projects. She wasn't entirely sure how to repeat it with someone else. And they all lived outside of Beach City, which mean that unless they were at school, they didn't get a lot of chances to hang out.

Which was why Kiki was so nervous about hanging out with Stevonnie.

Kiki knew it was stupid. Stevonnie wasn't scary. They were the exact opposite. They were cheerful, silly, and almost aggressively friendly, at least one-on-one. Dress shopping with them had been fun. (Clothes shopping! _Fun_! Who'd have believed it?). The prom had been great too, and so had the movie, even if it had been sorta kiddy. Kiki liked them. She _wanted_ to hang out again.

… she was just terrified she'd mess it up, somehow.

So when the restaurant's doorbell chimed and Stevonnie's voice called out, "Kiki? You here?", she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Here!" Kiki called from the kitchen, hurrying out into the restaurant proper. 'How're ya doing today?"

"Great. I'll have a large pepperoni with bell peppers, please."

Kiki blinked, and reached for her notepad. Stevonnie giggled.

"Sorry," they said. "It's just that you're still wearing your uniform."

"Oh." Kiki laughed, a little nervously. "For a second there, I thought you were only hanging out with me for the pizza."

Stevonnie winked. "Nah, I'm here for the fish stew, too."

Now Kiki's laugh was genuine. "Well, that's okay then."

As Kiki took her apron off, Stevonnie asked her how she was doing. "'Bout as well as I can after a four hour shift."

Stevonnie grimaced in sympathy. "You wanna just go and… sit and relax somewhere?"

"First I wanna stretch my legs. Then sure." Kiki's stomach gurgled. "Long as we get a bite to eat."

"That can be arranged," said Stevonnie, grinning. "Don't know how you manage to work here. I'd just eat everything myself."

"It's called 'self-restraint'."

They tapped their chin, brow creasing. "Nope. Never heard of it."

Kiki snorted, and finally turned to hang up her apron and hat, which was when Gunga appeared to say hello. Stevonnie chatted with her politely for a few minutes, until Gunga finally waved them off, telling them to "Go have fun! Be back by ten, so I don't have to convince your father not to ground you!"

Just as the pair of them were slipping through the doors, Gunga gave Kiki a wink. Kiki swallowed a sigh and rolled her eyes. Her grandma was convinced they were dating, even though Kiki had told her that they'd agreed to be friends, instead. She supposed it was only natural, considering that they had been each other's date to the prom, but still. Kinda annoying.

She and Stevonnie made their way down the boardwalk, just chatting about stuff. Nothing in particular. Favourite subjects (Kiki liked PE and English; Stevonnie said they weren't picky, but that art and history were probably theirs). The TV shows they were watching (Stevonnie loved _Under the Knife_ , while Kiki was trying to catch up on _Weirder Stuff_.) Stevonnie asked if Kiki had had any luck getting her own room, and Kiki dove into nearly a five minute description about how her Dad had finally agreed to convert her Mom's old 'study' into an extra bedroom, and how she'd spent ages picking out paint colours and stuff.

"Technically it's Dad's study, too, but he basically never uses it," Kiki explained. "I think he was mostly just keeping around cuz of… nostalgia, or something? But Gunga talked to him, and he figured Mom woulda preferred one of us having it, instead of it just sitting there empty."

(It occured to Kiki that she'd never actually told Stevonnie about her and Jenny's long standing fights about how they both wanted their own room. But that wasn't too weird, was it? She was pretty sure that she'd mentioned it to Steven, and Stevonnie was pretty obviously related to him. Probably not a sibling, but maybe a cousin? Steven had probably mentioned it to them.)

Kiki was just about to ask about that, when she noticed the downcast expression on Stevonnie's face. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Fine." They shook their head. "Sorry. Just thinking 'bout how I kinda took over my mom's old room, too."

"You lost your mom?"

"... yeah. Childbirth."

"Sorry," Kiki said.

"It's okay." Stevonnie shrugged, and Kiki recognized their expression as that of someone who was sad, but held no real grief.

"I was three when mine died," she said. "Stroke. Really unexpected, apparently. I remember how upset Dad and Gunga were when it happened. But... I don't really remember _her_."

"Sorry," Stevonnie said, and Kiki got the sense the apology was more for the memories than the death.

They walked in silence for a bit, neither sure how to continue the conversation. Thankfully by then they'd nearly reached the Big Donut, and the promise of food. Wordlessly, they both made a beeline for it. Something sweet would really be appreciated.

Inside, it was the usual two employees on duty: the smiley blond girl, and the rude guy who sometimes hung out with Jenny. Both their eyes bugged out when they entered. The dude even took out his earbuds, which seemed, from Kiki's limited experience, a minor miracle.

"Uh. Hello!" said the girl. "Stevonnie! And, uh, Kiki, right?"

"Yep. Er, and you're… Sam?"

"Sadie," she corrected. Kiki felt her cheeks flush, and she was grateful for her dark skin. How long had this girl been working here, just down the street from her place, and Kiki'd never learned her name?

(The dude didn't offer his name. He was just staring. Rude.)

Stevonnie seemed to have the place's menu memorized, and ordered one chocolate donut and one strawberry glaze, right off the bat. Kiki was less certain. "Uh," she said, "what'd you recommend?"

"Oh, well," said Sadie, "the honey crullers's probably my favourite."

"Sounds good! I'll have that, please."

Their hands brushed when Kiki passed Sadie the change. It was just a moment, but their eyes met, and Kiki felt herself flushing all over again.

Kiki pulled back her hand a little quicker than perhaps necessary.

"See you later!" Stevonnie called, and Kiki barely managed to stammer out a goodbye of her own.

Back outside they went, to snag one of the outdoor tables and enjoy the sunset. Kiki bit into her donut— and wow, it really was sweet— swallowed, and asked, "What's that guy's name again?"

"Lars?"

"Yeah, that's it." Kiki shook her head. She didn't like to say bad things about people behind their back, especially people she barely knew, but…

Stevonnie had clearly read her expression. "He's not so bad. Er…" their mouth twisted. "Yeah, okay, he's kind of a jerk, but I think it's just a shell he puts on. He can be nice, if you get to know him. And Sadie's great."

"Mmm?" said Kiki.

"We should ask her to hang out sometimes." Stevonnie was looking at her, a knowing gleam in their eye.

"That would be nice," Kiki said, words coming out a bit fast. "Hey, you're not cold, are you?"

Stevonnie blinked. "Cold?"

"Yeah. It's a little chilly," said Kiki, just as a stiff breeze off the ocean grabbed some of Stevonnie's hair and tossed it in their face. "And you don't have a jacket or anything."

(Stevonnie had a look that Kiki _wished_ she could pull off. Almost always wearing with that too-small red star t-shirt, and everything else super tight and form fitting. Today they had on jeans that cut off at the knees, suspenders, and a frilly purple undershirt. They looked awesome, but not particularly warm for mid-spring.)

"I'm fine!" said Stevonnie, brushing the hair out of their face. "Guess I'm warm blooded."

"'Course you're warm blooded, you're human. That doesn't mean you can't get cold."

"Haha, yeah," Stevonnie laughed. Then, abruptly, they stopped, and looked down at their donuts.

They picked at the food despondently, and Kiki finished her own donut, wondering if she'd said something wrong.

"Kiki," Stevonnie sighed. "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"Huh?"

Stevonnie didn't immediately answer. They didn't look cold anymore; they were sweating, visibly, their face was flushed. They were twisting their hands around the paper donut bag.

Every second they waited, Kiki felt her stomach sink lower and lower. "What do you mean?"

"Okay, there's no not-weird way to say this so… I'M STEVEN UNIVERSE."

"What?"

"I mean— I'm half Steven Universe, the other half of me is Connie Maheswaran, you've never met her, she's Steven's friend, and sometimes we turn into a single person through alien magic—"

"Woah, woah, slow down," said Kiki, feeling overwhelmed, and not even sure where to begin.

Stevonnie ran their hands over their face. "Okay. I'm just gonna show you, alright?"

Before Kiki could say anything, there was a flash of pink, and two shapes tumbled out of the chair. Kiki jumped to her feet, craning over the table, to see two kids picking themselves off the ground.

One was very clearly Steven— and okay, that _did_ explain why Stevonnie and Steven both apparently had the same shirt, which they each wore exclusively. He was wearing it now, and the jeans. The other was a girl Kiki recognised in a vague sort of way; she thought she'd seen her around town a couple times. Slim, purple dress, brown skin and black hair, blinking nervously around while Steven pulled over another chair.

"Well," said Kiki. "That's something."

"You're not… I mean… you're not surprised?" asked the girl.

"Oh, I'm surprised," said Kiki. "But not that surprised. I mean, I already knew Stevonnie was related to Steven, and that Steven's family is kinda unusual."

"How'd you know?" Steven said, looking genuinely surprised.

Kiki raised three fingers. "One: Stevonnie picked me up under the giant beach statue where you live. Two: your friend Pearl was our chaperone. Three: we drove to the prom in your dad's van."

"Oh yeah…" Steven said, while the girl face-palmed.

"So... Connie right?" Kiki asked, and the girl nodded. "So… how's this work? Do you remember me?"

"I remember everything Stevonnie did, yeah," said Connie. "And I know… some other things. Hazy impressions about who you are, from Steven's memories."

"Oh," said Kiki.

She had about a dozen questions, but she had no idea where to begin or if it was exactly polite to ask them. Wasn't like 'your friend suddenly split into two smaller people' was a social situation that came up a lot.

And… oh man, this explained some stuff, actually. Like, now Steven and Connie's clothes fit them perfectly, so that was why Stevonnie always looked like their outfits had been artfully shrunk in the wash, and why they must've been so excited for clothes shopping, or knew stuff that Kiki had never told them. And why they'd been so pumped to see that kids' film. Or why, they'd freaked out so much when they'd slow danced—

— Kiki stopped that train of thought, right there.

Stevonnie didn't need a reason to not want to go out with her, of course, beyond 'not wanting to'. But yeah. 'Actually two kids' was a pretty good reason not to want to.

"Oh, man," said Kiki. "How old are you guys, anyway?"

"Fourteen. And a half," said Steven.

"What? Really?" Kiki had thought he was _way_ younger. "We're only like a year apart!"

Steven shrugged.

"I'm thirteen," said Connie. That surprised Kiki in the other direction. She guessed the girl didn't really look that old, it was just that compared to the baby-faced Steven… And together they made a single person who looked sixteen or seventeen, easily.

"Oh, man," Kiki repeated, rubbing her head.

"Uh, are you okay?" said Steven.

"Fine," said Kiki.

"Are you… mad?"

"Mad?"

"Because we lied to you," said Connie.

Well. She guessed they had. "You kinda more just… didn't tell me something."

"That's a lie of omission," said Connie.

"… True," said Kiki. She didn't feel mad, exactly. Maybe a little annoyed, but mostly curious. "Why _didn't_ you tell me?"

"We didn't mean to, at first!" cried Steven. "We just forgot!"

"It's really easy to forget you're fused!" said Connie. "We didn't even realise!"

"Then by the time we did, we just— didn't—" said Steven. "It was kind of cool. Like having a secret identity."

"But then we felt bad," said Connie.

"But we were scared to tell you cuz—"

"— what if you didn't want to hang out with us?"

"What if you thought it was weird?"

"After all, humans don't exactly fuse every day, and we weren't sure how to explain it!"

"Stop!" Kiki cried, throwing up her hands. She was feeling a little dizzy. It was pretty easy to see how these two could somehow transform into a single person. "Guys. Please. I'm not mad. Maybe a little hurt…" Immediately their faces fell, so Kiki hurried onto the next part of the sentence. "But I get it.

"But Steven. Of course I wanna hang out with you. We're already friends."

"I…" said Steven. He smiled a little. "Right."

"And I mean, after the whole 'dream warrior' thing, it's not like I could be more surprised by your powers, y'know?"

"'Dream warrior thing'?" echoed Connie.

"Don't you know?" said Kiki. "From being in his head?"

" _Stevonnie's_ head," Connie corrected. "I only got hazy impressions of you, I said. Stuff like… you're really nice, and funny, and make great pizzas."

Kiki wasn't really sure how to respond to that.

Thankfully, she didn't have to, because Steven immediately dove into a longer explanation.

"I would never let Stevonnie know something that I know about you if I thought that you wouldn't want Connie to know."

Kiki ran a hand through her hair, trying to sort that sentence out in her head. It made sense, weirdly enough. "O-kaaaay," she said. "Well, long story short, I was having these nightmares for a while, and Steven used his dream powers to help me get rid of them."

"Aw, _cool_ ," said Connie.

"Yeah, it was super cool," said Steven. "At least at first."

Kiki felt a wave of old guilt. Her hands clenched. She said, "Sorry, again."

Steven waved her off. "Don't apologize. I wanted to help. And seriously, it was fun. Just… kinda tiring."

"Why don't you ever visit my dreams?" asked Connie.

"You never asked?" said Steven.

"Well, I'm asking now," said Connie. "This sounds awesome. I like, never remember my dreams."

"Well, maybe I have been there, you've just forgotten."

Connie narrowed her eyes at him. "You already admitted you haven't been in them."

"Darn," Steven said, outwitted. "Okay, I'll try to pop in tonight."

Kiki listened to all this in interest. "So… you've never been in each other's dreams but you've… shared a body? How's that work?"

"Oh, those two things are really different," said Steven, waving his hands in a vague movement. "When I'm inside someone's brain… well, it's like, I'm there, y'know? Separate, just watching. But when you're fused…"

"… it's like you're not there anymore. Not really," said Connie. "Stevonnie's the one there, instead."

"So you… disappear? That sounds… um… scary."

"It's not, really," said Connie. "Not usually."

"It's hard to explain," said Steven.

Kiki wanted explanations, however hard. She wanted to understand how Stevonnie— the person she'd gone shopping with, and danced with, and shared popcorn with— could somehow be two completely different people. How did it work, how did they all fit together, what did it feel like?

But Connie was staring down at the table, and even the usually exuberant Steven seemed uncertain, and Kiki pulled herself back. She wouldn't want to be… _interrogated_ about something personal by a new friend, and this seemed… pretty personal.

So instead, Kiki asked, "So, Connie, do you live in Beach City, or…?"

She didn't, it turned out. She lived about a half hour drive out of town. It was a bit of a hassle coming to visit, sometimes. Kiki more than understood, since her other friends had the same problem.

"I've got a car," said Kiki. "Or, well, my family does. But I'm allowed to use it! Sometimes, at least. If you ever need a lift, I'd be more than happy to help."

"That'd be great for when Lion's being lazy," said Steven. And that just set off another round of questions. About how Steven's weird pet Lion could apparently teleport, and how it had a sword in its head, and Connie had been _training_ with it. And then the two of them got to talking about their training routines, with Connie giving Kiki tips on how to build upper-arm muscles, while Kiki explained the best way to improve endurance. And from there, somehow, they got onto the topic of shoes, and teasing Steven for his stubborn refusal to wear anything other than a single pair of sandals.

"They're comfy, okay!" he exclaimed.

Before Kiki even knew it, it was dark, and Sadie and Lars were closing up shop. The two groups waved at each other, before Kiki checked her phone and figured she should probably be getting home. She still had a good hour before curfew, but she did have homework to finish.

Connie had to head back soon, too, but there was still enough time that she and Steven said they could walk back to Fish Stew Pizza. Once they arrived, they stood at the door doing the awkward dance that was goodbyes.

"This was really fun," said Steven.

"Yeah. Thanks for hanging out with us," said Connie. "And for… well, understanding."

"No prob. It was really nice hanging out with you…" Two? Three? "... all. Say bye to Stevonnie for me?"

Connie raised an eyebrow. Steven grinned. He asked, "How about you say bye to them yourself?"

It wasn't as fast as when Stevonnie fell apart, but still quick enough that Kiki almost missed it. The pair's hands reaching out for each other, Connie pulling up Steven's arm, the boy spinning— then a bright flash of pink light and—

There Stevonnie was.

"Hey," they said.

"Hey," Kiki repeated. "That was… wow, really cool. Is that all it takes?"

"Yep! Just a dance. Sometimes even less than that." Stevonnie gave them a long look— curious and nervous and uncertain, and asked, "I could teach you, if you want?"

"I— really?"

"Yeah, sure! I think so, at least. It can be kind of hard… but it can't hurt to try, right?"

Kiki considered. She still thought the whole thing sounded kind of confusing, and scary. But Stevonnie wasn't scary. So she smiled and said, "Sure. How's… this Tuesday sound?"

Stevonnie beamed. "Sounds _great_."


End file.
